| I believe very much in both the office of Evangelist and the gift of evangelism. For some reason better known to the devil than to the Body of Christ, the Office of Evangelist has been neglected in our country of Australia. If you think that is not true, tell me where all the "full-time" evangelists are hiding? They've all become pastors or property developers, haven't they?
People in churches have not been equipped to effectively share their faith and win people to Christ. There is little encouragement for people with a passion to preach the gospel to unchurched people. That is to say, WE ARE BEING DISCOURAGED FROM RESCUING THE PERISHING. Pastors seem to think that REAL evangelism should be happening primarily in THEIR church building. The prevailing philosophy therefore is to buy a bigger building, acquire more real estate, create more programs and better musical experiences, so that more people will invite their friends into the building where they can hear some kind of message lifting up the name of Jesus, embrace the vision of the church and keep repeating the cycle. |
 John Wesley - a great HISTORICAL evangelist |
That is what we have been seeing in Australia for the last 20 years at least. Thank God for the people who have genuinely met the Lord through this. But we MUST now shoot for God's best. We will do it, or DIE in the attempt.
The pressure is always on to convert evangelists into pastors or successful wealth creators, if possible. This suits the devil all too well. All this stuff Jesus said about forsaking the world for the gospel's sake seems a little outmoded today. When I returned from Romania having planted a church there and done much soulwinning I was told that no one will support evangelists in Australia, so go out and make as much money as you can, and lay hands on as many people as you can. I wonder how that squares with the teaching of Jesus that "You cannot serve God and Money". It was good pragmatic advice though, wasn't it? I made money and probably got to preach the gospel a few times a year, mostly by flying first to countries where people actually appreciate that sort of thing. If it wasn't for the use of the internet I would have reached very few people. But now, a new boldness is stirring and by God's grace we are going to become Holy Ghost vandals - tearing down the works of the devil all over the place. By God's grace I can see chances for serious gospel partnerships with at least two brothers who have this gift and call already, besides the rest of us who are in the house churches here.
In our vision we see a big role for pioneer evangelists IN AUSTRALIA. We don't want to have house churches which are merely hospitals for those wounded in the church system. If you just love winning souls, are gifted to do it, can DREAM BIG, are willing to come to Brisbane, and you just want some encouragement and help, we are waiting for you. Come and pray and fast with us and let's go and meet people and tell them the Good News. We'll work with you to follow people up until they show signs of true spiritual life in Jesus Christ. You can look forward to an eternal reward, because those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3).
UPDATE: Since the writing of this article, it has brought me so much joy to start working with at least 2 other dedicated soulwinners. We are starting to see some initial responses on our outreaches which are currently taking place on Thursday and Saturday nights. Of course, we all try to share the gospel with the people we meet at other times, even if all we can do is give people a little piece of literature. Healings are taking place already, and people are making indications that they want to follow the Lord. Please pray for us.